Accelerator control



June 24, 1930. N. z. BUTTERICK 1,765,877

ACCELERATOR CONTROL Filed Aug. 18. 1928. 2 Sheets-Sheet l Gttorneg June24, 1930. N. z. BUTTERICK ACCELERATOR CONTROL 2K Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledAug. 18. 1928 Patented June 24, 1930 UNITED STATES NAASON z. BUT'rEnroK,OFMIAMI, FLORIDA ACCELERATOR CONTROL Application filed August 18, 1928.Serial No.300,472.

This inventionrelates to'V a pedal control A device for actuating theaccelerator usedto control the throttlelever of internal combustionengines of motor vehicles. j

011e object of my invention is to provide a control device in which thefoot .may rest firmly upon tlie'pedal at all times so that the musclesof the operator will not be subjected to the strain and fatigue which isat present experienced when drving an automobile.

Another object is to provide an accelerator pedal device which may beadjusted or set to produce a definite speed within the'limit prescribedwithin congested districts when t-he pedal is pressed down to its fulllimit but which may be increased asdesired when traveling inunrestricted or open spaces by a' sliding movement of the pedal. Y

` A further object is to provide an accelerator control device whichmoves the throttle lever by definite increments andrfmaintains it infixed positionfat each stage of adjustment thereby feeding the gasoleneto the motor at a constant rate without iuctuation.

Other objects willappear from'tliefollowing description in connectionwith thefaccompanying drawings, in whioli- Figure 1 is a conventionalillustration showing in section the forwardportion of'an automobileprovided with my accelerator control device; y j j Y A Figure 2 is a topplan view of the device; VFigure 3 is a top plan view ofthe sameV withtlie foot plate removed;

views of the same;and j j V Figure 6 is a fragmentary sideY elevationoflthe rearportionof the* device;

Figures and 5 are longitudinal sectional My acceleratorjcontrol maysupported upon the floor boardB of an automobile and `be connected bymeansof theusuallinkjrod 5 with the throttle lever-of the enginetf'lhe isupporting frame may be provided lwith l a bottom portion 1 and sidesj12having lateral supporting iangeslfl. The `foot pedal is provided with asolei-portionl and aheel por- `tion`16 havinga flange lto bearagainstthe rear ofthe heel andan aluutment 18 to receivethe thrust from thefront `edge of the heel when thefootis slid forwardly. A despring 34coiled about thepivot pin 31.

justing member 30.

pression -or socket 19 may be formed inthe d hlel portion to receive theheel of a womans s oe.

The pedal isprovided adjacent the rear` end lwith lateral depending ears2'()l to hinge upon a pivot rod 21 which is carried by, the rectangularvcarriage 28, slidably mounted upon guide rods 24 secured 26 surroundingthe forward ends ofthe guide rods. `The pedal is vnormallyheld ininclined position with the forward end. raisedfv as in Fig. 4, by acoiled-1 spring 27 held between a stud 28 projecting from the rearendofthe carriage, and a socket 29fdepending from the heel portion. d

to end lugs 25 prorjecting upwardly from the bottoni plate 10.

The adjusting member to which'the throt-:ag

tle lever is connected is shown. asaplate 30 pivoted at 31 between apair of standards or posts 32 depending from the bottom member 10, theplate having'an arcuate' upper edge and being normally swung upwardly bya..

operating farm or stem 35 projects downwardly from the pedal and isprovided with' a bifurcated end to engage and ride alongthe arcuate edgeof the vThe operation of the parts above described will be evident.`Vhen the pedal is elevated to its highest position as indicated insolid AnH pivoted accelerator adlines in Fig. 4, the carbureter isYadjusted for "the idling operation of the engine. To increase the speed,the operator gradually def ,presses the pedall thereby `causing .thestem 35 to move rearwardly'over the arcuatey edge of theacceleratormember 30,'causing the latter to swing ,downwardly on itspivotpinv and thereby opening the throttle.. Just before the lpedal`reaches yits lowermost position, ii`idiczitedg-1by` thebroken linesanauxiliary operatingstem 36, engages the accelerf' atorlrnember 30 adjacent'itscenter and holds `it. firmly and steadily.

This 'auxiliary stem 36 is not absolutely necessary buty may be yused.advantageously by reason of itsleverage fromthe pivot pin.\v Thepartsmay be sor proportioned thatthe motor vehicle will ated by asliding movement ofwtfhepedali When the pedal is fully depressed asshown in broken lines in Fig. Lgt/he operatingstemA 35 has Vbeen movedrearwardly and ,down-- wardly along the curved edgeof ktheacceleratormember to a position adjacent the pivot. It will be evidentthat if they pedalisslid forwardly while fullyr depressed, .the operat-`ingstem- 35 wllmove forwardly along the' curved or arcuate:v edge ofthey memberSO,

` causing it @to swing downwardly ,about its pivotstill furtherA andthereby opening the 'throttle toa greater extent.

The sliding lcarriage 23, is provided with a pawl or dog l0 pivoted at4l andyieldingly urged downward by a springAQ coiled about the pivotpin. A plate secured tothe bottom of the heelrportion of the pedal andwhich is flanged atl' to form a stop or rest for the opcrators heel,"isbent at its forward `end to form an arcuate supportlledge l5 whichenga-ges the dog 40 `and holds it Lout of engagement with the racks'4carried by i thebottom plate, untilthepedal isifully depressed and-begins .to move forwardly. -I-Ience as long lasY theypedal is onlyoperated with' a' pivotal movement to ycontrol the acceleration betweeny,the idling .and predetermined s peed, thedegli() is 'held out ofengagement with the rack-bars 'by thehool member 1&5. Y soon, however,as 1the Qdepressed pedal is jslid'slightly forward the end of the dogdrops intotheiirst notchin :the rack-bar and prevents any 'backwardI,movement Each timethe pedal is slid for- ;ward the distance ofoneltooth, thedog rides over the `tooth and drops' into the next-notch.`In this manner the pedal can be slid 'forir'adly step bystepiandv'llbefprevented fiQI any bekwafdmovement bath@ engagement of vvthe ldogi with lthe Vrack-bar. y The' pedal isthiis automatically held'iirmly ateach position Fso that'theoperator may bfear'jhard againsttheheelflenge 17 and thus relieveft-he i'fe' muse-@S 0f all ,Strain- 4it is`desired to -decrease"theyspeed at e115/ .time the ,pedal is'first-rokd .upwardly to release the dog andmaythen fbe retracted vor'eased 'backwardly to Vthe desired extent and againdepressed to engagethe 'dog with the rack-bar.'

ator =in any desired position.

on the pivot rod 2l by the spring 27and the carriage will then bereturned to initial position by the springs 26, thus immediatelybringing the accelerator to idling position.

rlhe rate of acceleration can be regulated by the shape of the arcuateedge of the accelerator member 30 and this can be varied .to .suitdifferent conditions by substituting accelerator members of diilerentshapes. The parts can be so designed that the up and down-or rockingmovement of the pedal varies the speed from the idlng speed lto apredetermined speed, such as 2O or 25 miles per hour, the usual limitwithin city limits, so that-`the operator-is'thus sure that when thepedal is -fully depressed he .isnotiexceeding the speed limit.Vhen.travelingbeyondthe Irestricted area the speed may-be. at .onceincreased merely by slidingfthe pedal for-ward .until the desired speedis attained.`

vTouring over long .distances fmay be accomplished with comfort becausethe-foot is firmly supported on the pedal with ,the weight of lthe limbresting vagainst ,the heel plate, no effort being required to `holdthe'acceler- Moreover a steady evenflow ofgasolene is maintained at allspeeds regardless othecharacter of the road.

I l have ,describedl the construction Iillustrated indetailforthepurpose'of clearly disclosing one embodiment of my inventionbut it willbe evident that various. changes .and XllOClifications canbemade -w-.ithinlthe kscope of the invention. v

"I claim:

l. A device adapted' to operate the throttle controlling` the speeds ofamotor vehicle, comprising a support, lapedal mounted -ior pivotalandslidable movementsthereon,op-

erativfe means yconnecting said pedal. yand kthe throttle, saidoperative meansbeing actuated rstby the pivotal movement of thepedaliand then `further actuated ,by ,the sliding jmovement ofthe pedal.a l

'2. An accelerator control device,rcompris ving a carriage,` apedalmounted -for pivotal movement V.thereon and .bearing .thereon throughoutits extent .when .fully depressed,

guiding lmeans :for :the carriage-said '.car-

riage and pedal beingy slidable upon-said guiding mea-ns and holdingmeans brought "into action when .the pedal is fullydepressed Ito preventfreafrwardlmovement jw-hile f perfmitting forward movement of .thepedal.

V 3.5I'n an ,accelerator control :device las set for-th in claim12,.means lfor rendering'said fho'lding means ,ineffectual .whenthefpedal :is fnot-,ullyfdepressedlng awsupport, a pedal .mountedzforpivotal in rearmostretracted position fon safi'd "sup- 4.`Anaccelerator `control device, fcomprisport', the pivotal motion of thepedal controlling the accelerator between the lowest engine speed and apredetermined speed and the sliding movement thereof controlling theaccelerator for higher engine speeds.

5. In an accelerator control device as set forth in claim 4, ratchetmechanism operating to hold the pedal in any adjusted horizontalposition when the pedal is fully depressed and means carried by thepedal operating to disengage said ratchet mechanism during the pivotalmovements of the pedal.

6. An accelerator control device, comprising a support, a. carriageslidable on said support, a pedal pivotally mounted on said carriage andhaving a spring normally holding it in raised position, a throttleoperating member pivotally mounted and having a curved periphery, an armor stem carried by said pedal adapted to traverse said curved peripheryduring the pivotal movements of the pedal to depress said member aboutits pivot, said carriage being slidab'le forwardly to cause said stem tofurther depress said member, and retractile means to return saidcarriage to rearmost position.

7. In an vaccelerator control device as set` forth in claim 6, arack-bar secured to said support, a pawl or dog pivotally secured tosaid carriage and adapted to engage said rack-bar when the pedal isfully depressed.

8.r An accelerator control device, comprising a support, a carriageslidable on said support, a pedal pivotally mounted on said carriage andhaving a spring normally holding it in raised position, a throttleoperating member pivotally mounted and having a curved periphery, an armor stem carried'by said pedal adapted to traverse said curved peripheryduringthe pivotal movements of the pedal to depress said member aboutits pivot, said carriage being slidable forwardly to cause said stem tofurther depress` said member, retractile means to return said carriageto rearmost position, a rack-bar secured to said support, a pawl or dogpivota-lly secured to said carriage and adapted to engage said rack-barwhen the pedal is fully depressed, and means carried by said pedal tohold said dog free from said rack-bar during pivotal movements of thepedal. p

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

' NAASON Z. BUTTERICK,

